Persona 5 Tactica Review - Once Again With Feelings

Persona 5 Tactica is a flawless spinoff with an intriguing story, complex new characters, head-banging music, and accessible yet challenging gameplay, all wrapped in an incredibly endearing art style that's notched up to the eleven. 

It's a spinoff that's in line with the original and throws subtle shades at it at every crossroad of the story. Hanging out with the Phantom Thieves again in Persona 5 Tactica is like meeting your best friends after a long time like nothing has changed. 

While the time you spend with them and their new comrades is shorter this time around, it's still a memorable one, where every little banter between this group of rebellious teenagers and every challenge they face together is worth cherishing. 

Persona 5 Tactica Story

Getting to hear and spend time with Ren, Makoto, Mona, Futaba, Ann, Ryuji, Haru, and Yusuke again, just like in the old times, is too precious, and their portrayal in Persona 5 Tactica feels believable and in sync with their depictions in the original game.

Persona 5 Tactica's story takes place during the events of Persona 5, somewhere around the game's third semester before Makoto and Haru's graduation. It starts at Leblanc as the gang gets together for a routine meetup. However, they are quickly sucked into an alternate reality that looks like a war-torn medieval European kingdom. 

The kingdom is like a Metaverse Palace from the original game, crumbling under the tyranny of a tenacious woman named Marie and her military group called Legionnaires.

After a harrowing first encounter with Marie and the Legionnaires, where most of the Phantom Thieves are hypnotized and abducted, Joker and Morgana are rescued by the leader of an opposing faction, a group of freedom fighters called Rebel Corps. Erina, Rebel Corp's fearsome leader, and the Phantom Thieves form a temporary alliance to rescue the remaining Phantom Thieves members and end Marie's rule. 

Unlike Persona 5, there are no social sim elements in Persona 5 Tactica. It's a linear game where you partake in tactical combat encounters, watch a cutscene, or talk with your fellow comrades at the safe house (which is the metaverse version of Leblanc), and manage your skills and Personas.

Most narrative developments occur between these combat encounters as the group discusses strategies to overcome the kingdom's ruler or indulge in silly banter in the traditional Persona fashion. There are also optional dialogue encounters that you can partake in occasionally at Leblanc. These are surprisingly some of the most wholesome moments in the game that flesh out the overarching narrative and strengthen the bonds of these endearing characters. 

Speaking of characters, Erina has a pretty textbook leader personality that works well within the contexts of the narrative, but other than there's nothing really striking about her. It doesn't take long for her to be buried under the shadow of the Phantom Thieves and the other newcomer, Toshiro Kasukabe, who quickly steals the spotlight. 

Initially, Toshiro feels like a misfit in this group, what with him being a rich and powerful political figure running up for the post of Prime Minister: an uncanny resemblance to the original game's antagonist, Shido. However, as the story unfolds, Toshiro's character evolves from being an amnesic and unreliable political guy to a trustworthy leader who has plenty in common with the Phantom Thieves.

Toshiro is the catalyst that moves the story forward and Atlus has ingeniously made him relatable to every Phantom Thieves member.

Atlus is unbeatable when it comes to character development, and Toshiro is just a perfect example of this. As the story unravels, you get to know a lot about Toshiro's insecurities and past, which Atlus has ingeniously made relatable to every Phantom Thieves member.

For instance, there's a moment in the story where he talks about losing his mother at a tender age, which allows Futaba to relate to him. On the other hand, opening up about being amnesic and losing his memory gets him empathy from Mona, who also struggled with the same issue in the base game. Many such instances appear throughout the game's 40-hour story, and they allow the group to understand and become closer to Toshiro. It's a good thing because Toshiro is the catalyst that moves this story forward. 

While Toshiro is a great character, and I don't want to sell him short, the main reason why you probably want to play Persona 5 Tactica is because of our dear old Phantom Thieves.

Getting to hear and spend time with Ren, Makoto, Mona, Futaba, Ann, Ryuji, Haru, and Yusuke again, just like in the old times, is too precious, and their portrayal in Persona 5 Tactica feels believable and in sync with their depictions in the original game.

Knowing that it's probably our last adventure with the Phantom Thieves, Atlus also went full-on with fan service but in the most diligent and meaningful way.

 The voice acting is top-notch, as always, and the dynamic between them is exactly how you would expect it to be in that time frame of Persona 5's main story. There are countless memorable conversations where you just can't stop smiling and laughing hysterically.

Knowing that it's probably our last adventure with the Phantom Thieves, Atlus also went full-on with fan service but in the most diligent and meaningful way. One instance in particular where you have to choose which one of the Phantom Thieves you would marry is my favorite. Selecting any of them will yield a beautiful cutscene that will probably stay with you long after you roll credits. 

It's also important to note that potential partners for this hypothetical marriage also include Ryuji and Yusuke, which is a cue that Atlus isn't homophobic anymore. One of the biggest complaints about past mainline Persona games has been that they were blatantly homophobic, sexist, and appealed to the male gaze by over-sexualizing their female characters.

Not only does Persona 5 Tactica not feature sexist fan service moments like the past games, but it also doesn't have homophobic jokes or references that could offend any minor community. Is this a sign of a more LGBTQ-friendly and inclusive Persona 6 in the future? I don't know, but it's a step in the right direction. 

Atlus understands how much these characters mean to its audience and uses them to raise the stakes of the main narrative. For instance, in the beginning, Ann, Makoto, Futaba, Ryuji, and Haru get abducted and brainwashed by Marie, and it really absorbs you into the story and compels you to save them. It might not have had the same impact if you weren't familiar with these characters, but Atlus knows that's not the case and uses it to their full advantage. However, even if you haven't played the original game, the moment-to-moment banters between these characters are enough to engross you in the story. 

Speaking of characters, the villains in Persona 5 Tactica are fairly one-dimensional corrupted individuals that tonally and personality-wise seem similar to the ones you encounter in the base game. Something like an eccentric dictator and a power-hungry politician fits the overarching narrative of Persona 5, but this is one area where I felt Atlus had really run out of ideas.

Would taking down more complex villains with varying philosophies would have been refreshing? Yes, but most Persona villains aren't satisfying to take down because you empathize with them but because they are straight-up evil and obnoxious, and so it didn't really bother me as much as I thought it would.

Persona 5 Tactica Gameplay

Persona 5 Tactica's gameplay is quite easy to get into but tricky to master

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed Persona 5 Tactica's gameplay. As someone who doesn't play a lot of Tactical RPGs, I was a bit skeptical about how accessible and engaging its gameplay would be for someone like me. However, like Persona 5 and Persona 5 Strikers beforehand, both of which were easy entry points in their respective subgenres, Persona 5 Tactica is quite convenient to get into but tricky to master. 

While it borrows the fundamentals of Persona 5's combat, which includes collecting new personas and fusing them to create new and powerful ones, Persona 5 Tactica offers a largely different gameplay experience. For instance, Joker can't wield multiple personas anymore. Instead, every character can equip a Sub-Persona, which offers an additional active and passive ability for them to use. This gives you more flexibility in customizing your party, and it's something I really enjoyed tinkering with. 

Positioning is vital in any Tactical RPG, and Persona 5 Tactica is no different in this regard. You will spend plenty of time carefully analyzing the battlefield and planning where to send your units to maximize damage and take minimum damage in return. Since enemies don't have elemental weaknesses anymore, who you bring to the battle depends more on who you like to play as. 

However, characters that have more movement and deal sweeping attacks have an advantage. In Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal, I rarely found myself using Morgana or Yusuke in the battle though in Persona 5 Tactica, they are my favorites.

Morgana is the best of both worlds because not only does he have increased movement, which allows him to move more grids in a single turn, but his primary attack sweeps enemies and throws them down.

Sweeping attacks are perfect for throwing enemies from the upper level to the lower level, and doing so deals them additional damage. Being on the upper ground also gives you a tactical advantage and increases your chances of dealing critical damage, which is your one-way ticket to victory.

Side quests are brutal encounters that really wants you to master "One More."

Dealing critical damage knocks enemies down and gives you a "One More" turn. You can stack up "One More" multiple times as long as you continue to deal critical damage. Since you can know beforehand which attacks can deal critical damage to certain enemies, you will spend a lot of time analyzing the battlefield and finding targets that can trigger "One More." 

Stacking up "One More" can be the only way to victory on higher difficulties. There are also side quests that will pop up at certain story junctions. These are brutal encounters that really want you to master stacking "One More," as most of the time, it's the only way to complete these quests.

The challenges mostly boil down to stuff like defeating all enemies or reaching the end point in a single turn, both of which can be extremely daunting tasks. However, once you do master it, completing these can be quite satisfying and rewarding.

You get Growth Points (GP) for finishing these side quests, which you can use to unlock new skills for different characters. Every party member has their own skill tree, which basically lets you increase their HP, SP, and the strength of their base Persona's abilities. You also get GP by talking to allies and by progressing the story, but the quickest way to get them is by completing the side quests.

When an enemy is knocked down, you can surround it and form a triangle to deliver a special attack called "Triple Threat." It has its own battle animation and deals a ton of damage. Like "One More," "Triple Threat" is also incredibly important to get an edge in the battle. 

One of Persona 5's best gameplay features, Baton Pass, is also part of Persona 5 Tactica. However, it works quite differently here. Instead of stacking up attacks to deal increased damage, it lets you replace a downed party member with another unit. It's actually a game-changer if you play in higher difficulties. However, at normal, I only got to use it once in a boss battle. While I would have liked to see Baton Pass return as an offensive ability, there are so many other cool gameplay elements that it really didn't bother me after a while. 

Overall, the gameplay in Persona 5 Tactica is challenging and a lot of fun. There are plenty of nuances to keep things fresh, like the new Award system, which adds bonus optional objectives in combat. Completing them will grant you additional rewards. Little additions like these go a long way in keeping the game's combat fresh for 40+ hours. 

Music has always been the heart and soul of the Persona franchise, and Persona 5, with its jazz-infused soundtrack, was no exception. For Persona 5 Tactica, Atlus has taken some of the notable P5 tracks and remixed them to suit the vibe of this game, and it works incredibly well.

I absolutely adored the remixed versions of tracks like Beneath the Mask and Life Will Change. Speaking of Life Will Change, Lyn has also composed a few new tracks for Persona 5 Tactica, which are more Rock and Roll than Jazz. The battle track for the first kingdom is just so head-banging that it gives Life Will Change a run for its money. 

One of the reasons why it took me a while to get immersed in Persona 5 Strikers was because the soundtrack didn't initially click with me. That doesn't happen here in Persona 5 Tactica. Overall, amazing soundtrack, with some new catchy tunes that I think most people will love.